Forever Condemned
by LumBabsFan
Summary: One shot. LumiBabs reaction to the moment in the musical when the Beast releases Belle. I will never watch the scene the same way again.


_**Forever Condemned**_

_Characters © Disney_

"I let her go."

The crickets' chirping had once been melodious and romantic riding on the gentle breeze. Now all they intoned was a song of despair as Vincent awaited his servants' response to his reluctant actions.

"You what?" Cogsworth gasped, the joy he felt along with his companions vanishing in an instant.

Lumière's flames doused immediately as he stared as his master in shock. "How could you do that?"

"I had to," the beast prince said, trying to hide his sorrow and failing miserably. Belle had only been gone for a few minutes, perhaps she was even still in the castle preparing to leave, and already he missed her.

"But…_why_?" Cogsworth persisted.

Vincent closed his eyes tightly, instinctively looking to Mrs. Potts for help. She had always been like a mother to him. As horribly as he treated her since he was a boy, she had never let him down or turned him away, and he needed her now more than ever.

The kindly teapot's eyes welled up in tears as she nodded. "After all this time…he has finally learned to love."

"But that is it then!" Lumière exclaimed suddenly. "That should…break the spell…"

"It's not enough," she interrupted sadly. "She has to love him in return."

Cogsworth bit his lip, lowering his eyes to the ground. "And now, it's too late."

As the trio would not be getting any more words from their master, they slowly went back inside, unable to speak until Cogsworth cleared his throat.

"Well," he choked, trying to be the voice of reason as usual; both Mrs. Potts and Lumière knew better. "I suppose we should tell the others; they deserve to know."

Mrs. Potts nodded. "Everyone in the kitchen?"

"Yes, as soon as possible."

While Cogsworth quickly strode away from the two, afraid to let his emotions show too much, Mrs. Potts moved to follow him, turning back only when she realized Lumière had not joined them.

"Are you coming?" she offered gently.

Lumière glanced at her, acknowledging her after a distracted moment. "Oui…I will be there as soon as I can. I doubt even he will notice if I am late this time," he said with a half-hearted grin, trying to be his optimistic self.

Mrs. Potts returned to his side, stiffly reaching her handle arm to touch his shoulder in comfort. "We did all we could; it…just wasn't enough."

Lumière swallowed, desperate not to display how upset he felt. "I know."

The older woman paused before she spoke again, knowingly. "She is going to need you now; you should go to her."

Mon Dieu, Babette…why did she have to remind him? How could he tell her that their lives were officially over? As the rose was so close to death, so would they be when the final petal fell, concealing them inside their object forms forever.

With a nod to Mrs. Potts, Lumière nervously walked down the West Wing staircase. Many of the servants were already making their way to the kitchen. Painfully, he watched them, each still elated with hope to hear wonderful news, and he knew they would not receive it. Distraction still in his eyes, he did not notice a familiar pair of arms embrace him tightly as he reached the bottom until their owner's strength almost knocked him off his feet, or what was left of them.

"Oh, mon cher," Babette whispered close to his ear. In any other situation, her enticing voice would set his candle hands aflame with excitement. He did not respond as she continued more happily. "Tonight must have done good work if Cogsworth is so insistent on calling us together! Can you believe it! Soon we will be as we once were!"

When he remained silent, Babette pulled away to glance at him, gently tossing her head to rid her face of her bang-like string that kept pestering her view. Only then did she realize his expression was not the joyous one she expected. "Lumière? Mon amour, why the long face? You are happy, non?"

Lumière gazed at his beloved longingly. He had never felt the need to curse the enchantress before. She was the single being on Earth brave enough to do what none of them could: stand up to their master and teach him a lesson that needed to be learned. But as he felt his memories of their days before the spell disappear, leaving him only with this precious moment with the woman he adored, he selfishly condemned the witch for taking away what little he had left of Babette to love and admire.

Cautiously, he reached for her cheek, as usual causing her to flinch. She always did, either in fear of being burned or from the cold metal of the sconce. He could not even comfort her properly! For the past few years, his only regret was losing his human hands to candles. The inability to touch and hold her the way he used to had tortured him for so long. Maybe the end of the spell would be for the best! He would finally become a candelabra through and through; all memories would be gone, and with them, his desire to caress her as only a human lover could.

Quietly, he drew her to a corner, away from all close hearing range.

"Babette, listen to me," Lumière said, slowly choosing his words.

Her smile lessened in width, not taking his tone as a good sign. "Lumière, what is it? What is wrong?"

"While…everything went as planned," he continued, his voice shaken. "Something…completely out of our control happened."

"What?"

"He-he fell in love."

Babette laughed gently. "Well that _was_ the idea!"

"And…he released her," he said quickly. "The mademoiselle is leaving us."

Her face fell again, the smile now completely absent. "But…she said she loved him?"

Lumière froze where he stood. He would not shake his head in a negative response; as long as he did not tell her the truth, there was still hope. As long as she did not know that all their work had failed, there was still a chance for humanity to return to them.

But his silence said it all.

"No," Babette muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. "No, of course she told him. By the morning, we will be human again! All that we were, just as we wanted!"

"Ma plumette, it could not be helped…"

"Stop!" she shrieked, struggling to get away. "This is the most cruel trick you have ever tried!"

"Don't you think I wish it was!" he shouted, causing her to cease her movement. In all their arguments, he had never yelled at her so fiercely before, and frankly it frightened them both. At last breaking down into tears, his voice shook with anger and sadness. "I am ready to wake up from this nightmare as much as you are! This is not a trick; if it were there would still be a chance for our lives to be everything they used to be! I hardly remember what it was like anymore! I prayed one day I could hold you close in my arms again, be able to love you the way you deserved, and now I never will!"

Much as she did not want to believe it, the sudden, unnatural depression and fear in his eyes confirmed the truth. As her own succumbed to crying, Babette held him as close as she could, cursing her own feather infested hands. Moving them about, she pressed them to his back, tensing in anxiety when she could no longer feel him. She might as well have not had hands at all!

Each crying into the other's shoulders, the lovers clung desperately to one another. Later, they would seek the comfort of their friends; for now, they only wanted each other.


End file.
